Jaidi bent on maiden success

English success
Bolton entered the competition after finishing sixth in the English Premiership last term, and after beating PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv 1936 in the first round, occupy second place in Group H following a 1-1 draw at Beşiktaş JK on Matchday 1.

Title credentials
Ahead of Thursday's visit of FC Zenit St. Petersburg, Jaidi claims manager Sam Allardyce, who has been tipped as a future England coach, has the credentials to guide Bolton to the final in Eindhoven next May. "We're taking it result by result, but I think we can go all the way and win the competition," the defender told uefa.com. "With the manager's help, advice and encouragement every player will give his utmost to go as far as we can, and I think he could lead us all the way to the trophy.

Good start
"We had a good first result against Lokomotiv Plovdiv, who were an unknown quantity and very difficult, and we took that form into the game at Beşiktaş," added the Tunisian international. "We have started well and things look good for us."

Intimidating atmosphere
It was Mexican international Jared Borgetti's goal that earned Bolton a point in Istanbul, and Jaidi says the whole squad is buoyed by the result at the Inönü stadium. "The atmosphere was intimidating and difficult in Turkey, something I'm used to from playing in Africa, but we came through really well," he said. "It would have been better to win, but an away result has provided a good foundation for us. We were happy with the 1-1 draw, and it has given us a lot of confidence."

Vital victory
The 30-year-old believes Bolton's hard work in Turkey will be wasted if they fail to beat Zenit at home. The Russian club defeated Vitória SC 2-1 on Matchday 1 to top the group, and Jaidi insists the Lancashire side must win to avoid falling off the pace. "With a draw away, it is really important we get a home win, which will set us up nicely for the remaining games," Jaidi said.

Unknown quantity
"They won their first match so we must not let them beat us and get too far ahead. If we draw all our away games and win all our home ones, we know it will not be perfect, but it will be enough to go through. I don't know very much about Zenit. I haven't seen them play, so I don't know what to expect. However, the management have done their bit to prepare us and if we concentrate on what we do best then it won't really matter what they do."

Radhi Jaidi's personal website is at www.icons.com